TINCAP – Kingston’s loss is Elizabethtown-Kitley’s gain as a producer of lubricants, for everything from crayons to motor oil, has opened an expanded facility in the township.
Advonex International cut the ribbon on its new building on County Road 29, north of Brockville, this afternoon (Wednesday).
Advonex CEO Chad Joshi said the company had been in a “cramped” 1,500 square foot facility in Kingston’s Innovation Park before it started looking for alternate locations.
Now, it’s in a 12,000 square foot building on Coons Road with plans to add another 9,000 square feet next year.
Advonex produces a line of lubricants called Entrada. Those include a Vasoline-type gel, a base oil for making other petroleum products, a mineral oil, a cold weather friendly diesel oil and a wax for making candles and crayons.
The process that is used to create the products is seen as being either carbon negative or, at the very least, carbon neutral.
The plant, which turned the key last week, is producing 10 kilograms of product a day for tests and pilot products to entice investors. The R&D facility will then expand to a processing plant, churning out one ton of product a day and then 100 ton a day once its fully operational.
Some of the company’s product partners – Valvoline and Minnesota Soybean Processors – were on hand for the opening.
As for jobs, there are 10 full-time employees with plans to add another 15 full-time positions within the next year. These are specialized positions – workers with Masters or a PhD – and pay $50,000-90,000 a year.
“Having Advonex gives us a huge advance in the green economy,” MPP Steve Clark said.
This plant will likely be an “exemplary corporate citizen” that will act as a catalyst to bring similar companies to Brockville and Elizabethtown-Kitley, Clark added.
Warden Robin Jones said she knew the company had been looking for a location and was “so pleased” it chose Elizabethtown-Kitley for its clean tech business.
Jones described Avonex as a “foothold” for other businesses to set up shop here.
